Smoked salmon is a versatile ingredient that can instantly elevate any appetizer spread. With its signature smoky flavor and silky texture, smoked salmon pairs beautifully with creamy, crunchy, and fresh components.
As a seafood lover and home cook, I’m always looking for new ways to serve smoked salmon. Over the years, I’ve experimented with countless appetizer recipes featuring this incredible fish. From classic combinations to unexpected flavor pairings, smoked salmon never ceases to impress my dinner guests.
In this article, I’ll share my 10 favorite appetizers that highlight smoked salmon. These easy yet elegant bites are sure to be a hit at your next cocktail party or dinner gathering.
1. Smoked Salmon Crostini
Crostini are the perfect vehicle for showing off smoked salmon’s flavors To make them
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Lightly toast sliced baguette, bruschetta, or cracker bread
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Spread with a layer of creamy cheese like mascarpone, goat cheese, or ricotta
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Top with folded or curled slices of smoked salmon
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Finish with extras like capers, minced red onion, dill, lemon zest, and cracked black pepper
The creamy cheese base nicely complements the smoky salmon’s richness. Herbs and lemon brighten up the flavors while capers and onion provide pops of briny saltiness.
2. Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs
Hard boiled eggs get a luxurious twist when stuffed with smoked salmon. To make deviled eggs:
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Cut eggs in half lengthwise and scoop yolks into a bowl
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Mash yolks with mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and fold in chopped smoked salmon
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Spoon or pipe the filling back into the egg whites
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Garnish with extras like salmon roe, dill, capers, pickled red onions or tobiko
The silky salmon and creamy filling pair beautifully in this classic appetizer. Eggs can be made ahead of time and garnished just before serving.
3. Smoked Salmon Cucumber Cups
For an easy, healthy appetizer, fill cucumber cups with smoked salmon mousse.
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Use a melon baller or small spoon to scoop out the center of cucumber slices
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In a food processor, blend cream cheese, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, diced onion, capers, dill
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Fold in flaked smoked salmon and add salt and pepper to taste
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Spoon the mousse into the cucumber cups and garnish with extra salmon, dill and lemon slices
The cool cucumber and tangy mousse make a refreshing start to any meal.
4. Smoked Salmon Rolls
For an interactive appetizer, let guests assemble their own smoked salmon rolls. Provide an array of fillings like:
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Cream cheese, mascarpone cheese or goat cheese
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Dill, chives, parsley, basil
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Capers, sliced red onion, cornichons
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Cucumber spears, celery sticks or roasted asparagus
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Lemon wedges, bagel chips, crackers
Then offer thinly sliced smoked salmon and let guests create their own flavor combinations by rolling up the ingredients in the fish.
5. Smoked Salmon Flatbread
Flatbread makes a great foundation for smoked salmon appetizers. Top pita, naan or homemade dough with:
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Whipped feta, goat cheese or ricotta
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Smoked salmon strips
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Sliced avocado or cucumber
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Red onion, tomato, arugula, spinach
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Fresh dill, lemon zest, olive oil, cracked black pepper
Bake or broil until the flatbread is golden and serve warm.
6. Smoked Salmon & Avocado Sushi Rolls
For an easy make-ahead option, assemble sushi rolls with smoked salmon rather than raw fish.
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Spread sushi rice on nori sheets and layer with smoked salmon, avocado slices, cucumber, carrot
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Roll up tightly and cut into bite-sized wheels
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Serve with wasabi, pickled ginger, soy sauce for dipping
The rich salmon and buttery avocado perfectly balance the vinegary rice and nori. Sushi rolls can be made several hours in advance.
7. Smoked Salmon Bruschetta
This twist on classic bruschetta has all the flavors of a bagel sandwich in appetizer form.
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Toast baguette or ciabatta slices
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Top with a schmear of cream cheese or ricotta
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Layer with smoked salmon strips, tomato, red onion, capers, fresh dill
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Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic reduction
It captures the essence of a smoked salmon bagel without the carbs!
8. Smoked Salmon Potato Skins
Potato skins get a fancy upgrade with smoked salmon and caviar.
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Scoop out baked russet or sweet potatoes and lightly brush with oil
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Fill with sour cream, cream cheese, chives, minced red onion, lemon zest
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Top with smoked salmon and salmon roe or caviar
Hearty potatoes and indulgent salmon caviar make a winning flavor and texture combo.
9. Smoked Salmon Endive Spears
Endive leaves make a chic vessel for serving smoked salmon.
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Fill leaves with herbed goat cheese, lemon cream cheese or other spread
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Top with smoked salmon strips and roll into spears
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Garnish with extras like salmon caviar, microgreens, herbs
The snap of the endive leaves offsets the rich fillings beautifully.
10. Smoked Salmon Pizzas
For a crowd-pleasing appetizer, top individual mini pizzas with smoked salmon.
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Use naan bread, pitas or bagels as the crust
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Spread with goat cheese, ricotta, or pesto
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Arrange smoked salmon slices, red onion, capers, dill
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Sprinkle with lemon zest and fresh pepper
These personal-sized pizzas allow your guests to customize their toppings. Smoked salmon also pairs wonderfully with grilled veggie pizzas.
With minimal effort, smoked salmon can instantly elevate crackers, flatbreads, crostini and other appetizer bases into elegant starters. I recommend buying high-quality smoked salmon and enhancing its natural flavors with herbs, citrus and creamy cheeses.
How to Serve Smoked Salmon
Smoked salmon may be best known as a bagel topping, but it deserves credit for all it can do beyond breakfast. The rich flavor and meaty texture of Provisions smoked wild salmon plays well with a wide variety of flavors and ingredients. These firm, flaky retort-packed fillets are similar to hot-smoked salmon. The fillets are delicious on their own, topped with fresh herbs or paired with creamy cheese; in a light grain salad or a seafood stew; or in tacos, pastas and scattered over pizzas. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with eating it right out of the pouch with a slice of crusty bread, either.
Here are some of our favorite ideas and recipes for serving smoked salmon.
Photo by Amy Kumler
When you’re trying to get out of a breakfast rut, smoked salmon is your ally. Toss it into your usual scrambled eggs and top with chives. Pile it on toast that you’ve spread with cream cheese, or, if you have a few extra minutes in your morning, try it with poached eggs and greens for a deluxe take on a bagel sandwich. Smoked salmon’s plentiful protein—along with omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D—will keep you satisfied till lunchtime or beyond.
Kimi Werners Wild Salmon Omelet. Photo by Thomas J. Story
Smoked salmon is a brunch staple for a reason. It elevates everything it’s served with, whether you add the fish to a big fat omelet or pan-sear it in salmon cakes to pair with a green salad. Or, for a smoked-salmon platter, lay out the salmon pieces with other brunch fixings—like cucumbers, hard-cooked eggs, capers, tomatoes, red onions, dill, cream cheese, and bagels or toast—so people can help themselves.
Photo by Amy Kumler
That salad or veggie sandwich you make for lunch on autopilot every week can instantly become more appealing—and nutritious—with the addition of smoked salmon. For workday desk lunches or a weekend picnic, try adding salmon to a four bean salad, a cucumber, avocado and tomato salad or a tangle of soba noodles. If you’re off for a hike, take two minutes and pack up this salmon wrap. In camp? Stir smoked salmon into hearty Tsampa Soup for a satisfying midday meal. Have a little more time? Put together a tangy, gingery take on ceviche, using smoked salmon instead of the usual raw fish.
Wild Salmon Spread. Photo by Amy Kumler
Salmon with cream cheese on a cracker is the classic. There’s nothing wrong with that, but sometimes it’s fun to break out of the box and go for salmon spring rolls with lots of fresh herbs, or addictive, crunchy Salmon Hush Puppies with Chimichurri Tartar Sauce. For a twist on the smoked-salmon cracker, try this Wild Salmon Spread (one of Provisions’ most popular recipes ever).
Photo by Amy Kumler
Photo by Amy Kumler
Ways to Serve Smoked Salmon for a Party
Smoked salmon makes for easy main dishes that seem like they took a lot of work. Add hunks of it to mixed-seafood tacos and top with seasonal vegetables (like watermelon radishes, above), or check out recipes like our decadent Puff Pastry Salmon Turnover or Wild Salmon Chanterelle Pizza. Or go all out and pair it with other seafoods in a festive Feast of 7 Fishes Seafood Soup or a piping hot bowl of cioppino.
Blanched spring vegetables with Provisions Wild Sockeye. Photo by Thomas J. Story
Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese & Dill Crackers | #snackidea #snacks #easyrecipe #healthyrecipe #recipe
FAQ
How to serve smoked salmon slices as a starter?
- Smoked salmon carpaccio. …
- Smoked salmon with prawns, horseradish cream & lime vinaigrette. …
- Smoked salmon with beetroot & vodka crème fraîche. …
- Hot-smoked salmon salad with a chilli lemon dressing. …
- Smoked salmon, dill & lemon paté …
- Smoked salmon coddled eggs. …
- Smoked salmon rotollos.
How do you serve smoked salmon?
Smoked salmon is commonly served on crackers, bagels, or bread, often with cream cheese, capers, red onion, and fresh dill. It can also be incorporated into salads, pasta dishes, or even served as a dip.
How do you make smoked salmon nibbles?
Method. Slice some pickled beetroot into a bowl. Take a slice of smoked salmon, smear over some horseradish, then add a slice or two of beetroot, a pinch of cress and squeeze over the juice from a wedge of lemon. Skewer all of the ingredients together on your fork then finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
How to serve smoked salmon on a platter?
- Begin by placing the cheeses and Regal smoked salmon fillet on the board.
- Cut the pear into thin slices. …
- Arrange the crackers, nuts and dried fruit and pear around the cheese and smoked salmon.
- Add any extra fresh herbs or seasonings to the salmon.
- Serve straight away as the pear will start to go brown.